I have a better-equipped workshop than most home fettlers and I justify my over-the-top toy buying habit by repairing the odd bike for a small financial recompense and writing in this august organ.
Many years ago I treated myself to an AC/DC TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welder, which is pretty fancy pants for a home workshop and will, combined with the right skill level, weld aluminium. TIG welding, however, does require not only a high degree of learned competence, but also regular practice, even if one has previously achieved a decent level of proficiency in the dark art of fusing alloys. Many cheap die-cast alloys with a high zinc content are pretty much not weldable, even by a TIG God!
Laser Tools gave me some magic sticks that claim – with no flux or fancy torches – can be used to repair pretty much any aluminum-based alloy. Some years ago I broke the back fence of my sliding chop saw. It was made of some ultra-cheap Chinese die-cast and whilst the saw worked fine, despite its great age and abuse suffered, the back fence was no longer available as a spare part, rendering the machine about as valuable as a hedge fund manager to humanity. I was pretty confident that the magic sticks would join together nice fresh bits of aluminium, but this part, that was broken at least five years ago, was a serious challenge!
Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
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Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Honda VFR750R - RC30
If there’s a more worshipped V4 out there, we’ve yet to see it: welcome to our reboot of the awesome VFR750R RC30…
Mountain tension!
Award-winning motorcycle engineer!
Fazer set to STUN!
What do you get when you mix CRK’s lovely café racer kit to Yamaha’s budget middleweight and the recently-retired Martin Fox? Well, one helluva foxy Fazer!
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
This month, while we wait for backorder engine parts, we strip the chassis back to the bare frame, assess what is needed and plan the reassembly…
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
For the best finish on his Z900’s motor Ralph wants the best, so he visits Stephen Smethurst Casting Renovation to find out how it’s done properly.
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
We’re getting down into the nitty-gritty this time with component testing and loom building. What could go wrong?
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Only The Beach Boys had good vibrations… so what’s Mark been up to, to sort out the bad ones coming from his TX750?
Splitting links
Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.
STAVROS: PRINCE OF PRANKSTERS!
It’s probably fair to say that Stephen JamesParrish’s persona and overall levity throughout his life have muddied the waters as to just how good a bike racer he was back in the day.
Metal magic!
Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .